Thousands enjoy RideLondon as cyclists takes over the capital

By Peter Smith

Last Updated: 02/08/17 12:35pm

Riders cycle up The Mall, as part of the FreeCycle Prudential RideLondon

Just one week after Team Sky's Chris Froome rode into Paris to win his fourth Tour de France yellow jersey, 100,000 cyclists took to the closed streets of London and Surrey across the three-day Prudential RideLondon.

The festival of cycling - featuring seven events, from free rides and sportives to the first ever UK World Tour one-day race for the pros - reflected the sport's boom on these shores.

Perhaps the best example of cycling's growing popularity was the sight of 70,000 riders rolling around 10 miles of closed central London roads on Saturday.

Riders cycle through closed central London roads

The 46 mile sportive on Sunday - now in its second year - attracted thousands of people new to cycling challenges, including Olympic champion boxer Nicola Adams, whose previous longest ride was 13km.

More experienced riders - 25,000 of them - tackled the tough 100 mile circuit which stretched from the Olympic Park to the Surrey Hills and - as with the shorter circuit - finished with a rewarding ride down The Mall.

That famous street also served as the finishing straight for the women's and men's professional races on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, respectively.

The pro peloton races through Westminster during the London-Surrey Classic

The men's race, won by Alexander Kristoff, had been given World Tour status, putting it into the top tier of one-day races in the sport, while the women's event has become the richest women's one-day race going.

At the side of the road, thousands of spectators cheered on professionals and amateurs alike throughout Sunday.

After three weeks of Tour de France excitement in July, cycling fever continues to grip the UK.

As the cycling season continues, with the Vuelta a Espana, Tour of Britain and world championships still to come, stay up to date with all the big stories and race reports with skysports.com/cycling